My Edward and I, then, are happy
by FairiesAndAngels
Summary: Sequel to Jane Eyre
1. Prologue

_My first JE fic! Just the prologue for now, but far more to come if you like it!_

I stared into the mirror. I stared at my deep green dress, at the soft curls in my hair, at my eyes. Eyes that were no longer brimming with the girlish excitement that they had a year ago. There was something far deeper there now. I was a woman. It had been five days since I returned to my master, and but three since he had asked me to be his wife. For the second time. Now I was his, and only his. Unlike during our previous engagement, I had been unable to keep my Edward at arms length. He needed me now. Not just in the romantic and sentimental way he had before, but for his very strength of mind and body. Despite that change, despite the changes in me, and despite the changes in him, we were as we ever were. The same twin souls, the same vigorous minds, the same single heart.

I continued down the hall, past the small parlour where I had taken breakfast with him, past the cosy drawing room where we had spent the past four evenings since my return, and out the door to the courtyard where I had beheld him five days since. Where I now beheld him again. My husband, my Edward.

"Jane?" he called, holding out his hand. I took it gladly, kissing its palm softly. "You gave John and Mary the five pounds?"

I replied that I had, and tucking my hand around his injured arm, led him out the gate. Together we walked, contented, through the woods surrounding Ferndean, meandering through its dark, twisted, tenacious blackness. We walked in silence for a time, neither of us knowing what to say, while understanding that nothing needed to be said. Edward stumbled a little occasionally, on a protruding branch or twig, but he never fell. I was always there to keep him steady, and he never begrudged his reliance on my aid.

After a while we stopped and rested on a fallen tree, my head against his chest, his arm around my small body.

"Are you happy Jane?" He asked me gently, running his fingers across my back. "Are you truly happy?"

I was.

_All comments are VERY welcome_


	2. Chapter 1, Part 1

I stared into the mirrorChapter 1, Part 1

It was as such that our life together began. It was a feeling that neither of us had ever truly experienced in our turbulent, stormy lives. It had always been there, glimmering and tempting, but always out of reach. Yet, within five days, its had become ours, and from then on we would treasure it for the rest of our lives.

Lives that were to begin that night. Our souls had entwined themselves and fused, irrefutably, long before; but that night, that first night, I truly became bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh. We were equals, in every sense.

"No, Jane," Edward said, when, at the top of the stairs, I had left his side to go to my own chamber to prepare myself. He pushed open his chamber's door. "Will you join me?"

Returning to his side I held his hand in both of mine, and reach up to kiss his scarred cheek.

"Gladly."

The room was warm and light as I entered. Mary had already lit her master's candles and a fire blazed in the hearth, catching Edward's attention immediately as we entered the room. The bed, large and undoubtedly as old as the house, was carefully made, and the small, paned window was opened a little. The breeze, which fluttered through the leafy trees beyond the house, calmed me. It gave me courage.

Edward had found his own way to the bed and had sat upon it, gazing sightlessly at the fire before him. Placing my hand on his shoulder he looked up, and I met his lips in a soft and reassuring kiss.

"Oh Jane," he whispered against me as I positioned myself on his lap. I felt his hand gently and slowly move across my back, feeling it, learning it. I turned in his arms and kissed his lips again.

"You must be the teacher, sir," I told him, my boldness obscuring the gnawing anxiety I truly felt.

"I am at liberty to instruct you, madam?"

"I am a willing pupil, sir. Any new accomplishment would be of great advantage to me, I am sure."

"Oh, most certainly," he said.

He kissed me again, his need and longing seeping through every movement in his kiss, every fibre of his body. I lost myself in that moment, as I never had before. I no longer needed to be afraid. I was his wife, his equal, in God's eyes as well as in the worlds', and I rejoiced in the fact. My hands went to his hair, his neck, his chest. I felt as I had never felt, I loved as I had never loved. Controlled, sensible, obscure little Miss Eyre was lost at sea, blind and free.

I felt his hands move through my hair, already dishevelled from our walk, cupping my neck, stroking my back; until he reached the hooks that fastened my dress. He fumbled, suddenly unsure of himself, and I felt his body tense.

I pulled back from his kiss and, wordlessly, stood up, pulling him with me.

"Jane, Jane, Jane. What am…" he began, but he stopped when I took his hand in mine and brought it round to the back of my dress.

I tentatively guided his fingers around the first hook, slowly undoing it, allowing my dress to fall away a little, before moving to the next one, together, as one. Hook by hook my dress came from my body, then my layers of petticoats, then my stays. My hands stilled as I realised that only my shift lay between my body and the world. I had never been so exposed to another being, even my nightgown, on the night of the fire in Edward's room, had been a greater friend to my modesty.

Suddenly unsure of myself, unsure of what was even expected of me, I moved my hands to his body. I ran my fingers down the edges of the lapels of his coat and let my body rest against his. I felt him relax, the warmth of his body permeating my shift, flooding my body. I eased his coat from his shoulders, then his waistcoat. I felt his body stiffen as I lay my hands against his thin linen shirt, feeling his chest beneath. So hard, so different. I ran my finger inside, gingerly touching his skin. I could feel his pulse racing, his heart beating, rhythmically, wildly.

"Jane," he whispered hoarsely, not sounding like my Edward at all. "Jane, you have a talent for torturing me, it would seem."

I smiled softly. "I cannot torture, Edward. I am fascinated, and I will revel in every moment."

I continued, slowly pushing his shirt aside, exploring, discovering. I had never in my life touched the skin of another being in such a way. I was innocent, to be sure, uncertain of what I should do, but my instinct and my courage never deserted me.

"Let me see you."

The request made me stop. Do desperate and savage a tone was it delivered in.

"Edward, how…"

"Though touch, my fairy, let me see you with my hands."

Part two of chapter one to follow…


End file.
